In my opinion, any time you need to consume something as a quick fix, you have a problem.- Jay White DLM

Really enjoyed this article on

Sleep Apnea, which affects about 20 million Americans, results in memory loss, poor concentration, and chronic fatigue. (from an earlier Smartkit post)

If you’ve never played Sudoku before, it really is fun- and simple. Rules: Put numbers in the squares so that 1-9 appear only once in each row, column, and 3×3 box.

The basic version of Smartkit Sudoku is free and can be played here.

Some highlights from a new study out of Cornell University regarding lead toxicity and the brain:

Your brain is extremely fragile, and easily damaged by concussions and other forms of acceleration/deceleration injury. Back in January, I posted the story about Andre Waters

Alcohol’s toxic effect on the brain is readily communicated by this MRI scan comparing a normal brain to that of an alcoholic:

As you can see, the alcoholic brain on the right is massively shrunken due to brain cell loss.

[click on image above to jump to journal article detailing brain-heart interactions]

My wife got an email from one of her friends tonight about ‘Strawberry Quick’. As if parents don’t have enough to worry about, this strawberry flavored methamphetamine candy (looks like ‘Pop-Rocks’) is being passed around schools nationwide.

Fourteen 6th graders were hospitalized yesterday in Oklahoma after consuming the little pink crystals.

From a recent update posted on the Medscape Neurology section:

Researchers at the American Academy of Neurology 59th Annual Meeting presented preliminary results from a study showing that long term exposure to secondhand smoke

Stimulants are being used with increasing frequency by students across college campuses (see ‘Harvard Students: Reaching for drugs to boost brain power). Many of them, however, probably aren’t well aware of the various side effects. In addition to chronic

Just last week I was telling my wife that, after having heard hundreds
of violent crime stories from victims and their families over the years, it was my conclusion that in the vast majority of cases, the perpetrator was under the influence of alcohol, cocaine, amphetamines, or prescription drugs, and that without this influence, the violent crime probably would not have taken place.

If you are overweight, here’s some additional incentive to lose the pounds from a recent study in the journal Neurology that suggests there is a connection between obesity and brain power amongst the middle aged.

Here’s some new research that will come as a surprise to most neurologists: Moderate iron deficiency- without overt anemia- can impair learning and memory.

Importantly, the study found that iron supplementation can reverse the cognitive dysfunction.

The study was published in the March 2007 issue American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Most Star Wars fans know that the dark side of the force has a negative effect on the user’s body (ok, I’ll admit right now that I’m probably in the camp of those who believe "all I really need to know I learned from Star Wars")

"Anger, fear, aggression; the dark side of the Force are they." Yoda

There is an ever-growing body of scientific evidence indicating omega-3 fats likely play a very significant role in depression. Unfortunately, because drug companies can’t really profit from omega-3 oils (non-patentable), I doubt you’ll currently find many physicians who understand the potential significance of such a simple intervention.

A study conducted by researchers out of Stanford University

Your mental energy and ability to concentrate depend to a very large extent on the types of food you eat. Unfortunately, most people fall short when it comes to understanding how to best feed the brain. Here’s a short tip you may find helpful:

Avastin is a fairly commonly used chemotherapy drug that can cause several adverse side effects when it comes to the brain. These include:

• Strokes and transient ischemic attacks (i.e., blood clots in the brain).

Earlier, I posted about a UC Irvine study that showed the more hours you put in at work, the more likely you are to have high blood pressure. High Blood Pressure ravages the small blood vessels that

Can college students pull an ‘All-Nighter’—staying up the entire night to cram for a test—and have their brains function close to normal the next day? The majority, of course, think so …

But several studies clearly show brain function takes a big hit after an all-nighter. Memory systems and

One of the greatest misunderstandings people have about the brain is their belief in “free energy”.

A study which appears in the January issue of Neuropsychology indicates that a simple blood test- checking for uric acid levels- may help predict risk of cognitive impairment in older adults.

Patients with high-normal uric acid levels were found to have lower scores on tests of:

• mental processing speed
• verbal memory
• working memory

I’ve posted earlier about how harmful stress can be for your brain and body. Recently came across some very helpful info on the

Almost all of the pork eaten in this country comes from Smithfield Foods. Last year they killed 27 million hogs. Amazingly, there aren’t that many people in all the major U.S. cities combined.

An eye opening

Drugs like Prozac, Celexa, Lexapro, Luvox, Paxil, Zoloft are given out like candy nowadays. Sometimes it seems as if every other patient I see is on an SSRI antidepressant.

A cautionary tale:

Almost 15 years ago, a  college buddy’s sister violently committed suicide with a gunshot to the head.

Snoring can be one of the signs of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a relatively common disease that affects children and adults. There’s been quite a bit of press lately about it- and for good reason: sleep apnea, which tends to be greatly underdiagnosed, can have a tremendous affect on your brain power.